For nearly three years, Roscoe Rike has been picking up his hormone-replacement therapy prescriptions at the same Walgreens in Oakland without a hitch.
That changed on Monday when the 30-year transgender man said he was denied his medication because of the pharmacist’s religious beliefs.
“It was just really surreal,” said Rike, who recorded part of the exchange at the pharmacy. “I know that transphobia and transphobic people exist, but that was my first experience of a perfect stranger doing something like that to my face.”
The exchange occurred Monday morning at the Walgreens in the 5000 block of Telegraph Avenue.
In a statement, a Walgreens spokesperson said the company was unable to discuss specific patients but said policies were in place to assure all patients are helped even in the “very rare” situation when employees have a religious belief that prevents them from helping the customer.
“In an instance where a team member has a religious or moral conviction that prevents them from meeting a patient’s need, we require the team member to refer the patient to another employee or manager on duty who can complete the transaction,” the statement read. “These instances, however, are very rare.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the company was reviewing the Oakland incident.
On Monday, Rike said he’d spoken to a Walgreens employee earlier that day to make sure his medication was ready for pickup but sensed something was awry when the pharmacist behind the counter unexpectedly asked him why he was taking the medication.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s any of your business, really,’” Rike said. “I was initially confused for a second, but right away I could sense that, OK, we’re doing this.”
The pharmacist then told Rike he would have to call his doctor to find out what the medication was for. When Rike pushed back, the pharmacist told him that he wouldn’t give him the prescription because of his religious beliefs.
That’s when Rike said he decided to record the encounter on his phone.
“So right now, you’re going to tell me you’re going to deny me my medication because of your personal religion?” Rike is heard saying in the video. “You’re not my [expletive] doctor.”
The pharmacists is seen looking at a computer screen and clicking on a mouse silently for a few seconds.
“So you think you know better than my doctor? Is that what’s going on?” Rike asked.
“I just need to know your diagnosis,” the pharmacist responded.
“Why? That’s none of your [expletive] business!” Rike said. “It’s always the religious people that have the most [expletive] hate in their hearts. You’re disgusting.”
During the incident, Rike said the pharmacist told him he could return to the store after noon, but that seemed unfair to him.
“Why should I have to wait two hours for something that’s ready?” he said. “Only thing that is keeping me from getting my medicine, that my doctor prescribed me, is this dude not doing his job.”
When Rike asked to speak with the manager, he said, the pharmacist ignored him.
Another employee contacted a manager, who apologized for the incident and gave Rike his medication.
Rike said he’s aware that pharmacists are allowed to refer patients to someone else if they have a religious objection but that doesn’t make sense.
“If you follow a religion that is going to prevent you from doing your job and provide medical care to people, then you need to not be in the medical profession dealing with the public,” he said.
Since Monday, Rike has considered changing pharmacies, or signing up for a home delivery service. He said he doesn’t want to deal with a similar situation again.
He hesitates to make any changes just yet, though.
“There’s a part of me that’s like, why do I have to change how I do things? I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “I should just be able to go to my local pharmacy and get my medication like everyone else.”
Join me in boycotting Walgreens
“If you follow a religion that is going to prevent you from doing your job and provide medical care to people, then you need to not be in the medical profession dealing with the public,” he said.
Any field that deals with the public really.
This should be grounds for immediate revocation of his license.
I hope the patient lodged a formal complaint with the California State Board of Pharmacy (have seen a lot of folks just go to the media, forgetting that there are authorizing bodies involved in any medical service). As per the 2023 Lawbook for Pharmacy:
- Dispensing Prescription Drugs and Devices (a) A licentiate shall not obstruct a patient in obtaining a prescription drug or device that has been legally prescribed or ordered for that patient. A violation of this section constitutes unprofessional conduct by the licentiate and shall subject the licentiate to disciplinary or administrative action by his or her licensing agency. (b) Notwithstanding any other law, a licentiate shall dispense drugs and devices, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 4024, pursuant to a lawful order or prescription unless one of the following circumstances exists: […] (3) The licentiate refuses on ethical, moral, or religious grounds to dispense a drug or device pursuant to an order or prescription. A licentiate may decline to dispense a prescription drug or device on this basis only if the licentiate has previously notified his or her employer, in writing, of the drug or class of drugs to which he or she objects, and the licentiate’s employer can, without creating undue hardship, provide a reasonable accommodation of the licentiate’s objection. The licentiate’s employer shall establish protocols that ensure that the patient has timely access to the prescribed drug or device despite the licentiate’s refusal to dispense the prescription or order. For purposes of this section, “reasonable accommodation” and “undue hardship” shall have the same meaning as applied to those terms pursuant to subdivision (l) of Section 12940 of the Government Code.
If the pharmacist in question did NOT previously inform Walgreen’s of their religious objection to hormone treatments for trans people, in writing, before this incident, they are in violation of this. At minimum, Walgreen’s should discipline or can the guy, as even assuming the general objection was documented the pharmacist violated Walgreen’s policy. I do not know what disciplinary or administrative actions re: the board would apply here if the pharmacist didn’t register the specific objection and drug class, but I don’t think suspension of license or fines are off the table (there’s details on disciplinary stuff in the document, but like all such documents it’s lengthy and I didn’t dig further).
That said, commenting from another country, so idk.
Source: https://www.pharmacy.ca.gov/laws_regs/lawbook.pdf - Page 373-374
This is the way.
My religion requires me to punch you in the face. Are we both going to observe, or are we both going to be sensible?
Do your fucking job, pharmacist. Or GTFO.
I’d really love it if one of these shit for brains could point out the passage in the bible that mandates withholding medication to trans people
Unfortunately, these rotten sewer fuck pieces of human garbage have never read the Bible, only heard what pastor Steve has to say about it.
By allowing this, Walgreens just emboldens other religious extremists. I’m on a hormone blocker to hopefully avoid a breast cancer recurrence; should I be prepared to ‘prove’ my diagnosis to Walgreens pharmacists before getting my medication?
My dad and grandfather were both pharmacists — and both Southern Baptists. They’d never have compromised the level of patient care they provided to make a religious/political point.
People who refuse to do their jobs should be fired. If I work tech support I don’t get to tell Windows users I won’t help them because I like MacOS better. Do your job, or get another. If your moral conflict is that great, dealing directly with the public is the wrong line of work.
Omg so true!
